Hey everyone. I'm starting up an outdoor gear and clothing store in my community and thought I'd see which brands you feel are by far the best in quality to help determine what I should carry. Are you brand loyal to any that you feel are far superior to the rest? When you purchase your gear are you more concerned with the brand or just looking for the best price?

Also I've made up a real quick survey on surveymonkey about what brands you own etc. to help me get some good info that should really help me out. I'd really appreciate it if any of you took a couple minutes to fill it out. Thanks

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/goodoutdoor

MSR, Western Mountaineering, Patagonia, Vasque, Thermarest, Deuter

It depends on your market. You cannot go wrong with ArcTerex, but the stuff is realy pricy. You had better have a market with lots of rich folks.

I am also impressed with Black Diamond - utilitarian, lower cost, but well thought out stuff, not the lightest, but it works. Just be aware that their tents are made for high, dry cold conditions - do not do well in downpour warm wet condtions.

I have also liked Kelty - not the lightest, but well made, consistent quality. Mid to lower price ranges.

Stuff made by companies based in the Pacific Northwest know what rain is. MSR tents are weatherproof if nothing else.

You also need to look at your local competition. You may prefer to carry brands that are not locally avalialbe. You are very brave to go into this business with all the cutthroat internet competion right now.

Good luck!

What I'd love to see is a brick and mortar store that carries only cottage industry gear (not more of the same like MSR, etc.). I'd love to walk into a physical store one day and see things hanging on the wall from the likes of Gossamer Gear, Tarptent, Trail Designs, Elemental Horizons, 6 Moon Designs, Mountain Laurel Designs, etc. I can buy MSR stuff anywhere but my dream shop would carry more unique stuff. Though I'm not sure how realistic it is because cottage manufacturers might not be interested in selling to a brick & mortar shop. Anyway, I can dream!

Jason, how about a store that will size you for a McHale? Anyways, a cottage industry store would be cool.

The reason that I think cottage gear makers give such good value is that there may not be enough margin between the production cost and sales price to support multiple mark-ups.
We may never see our favorite gear in brick & mortar.

Also, the cottage manufacturers can't produce the volume needed for the big chains like REI to bother stocking. Lightweight backpacking gear is also still a niche market.

EDIT: That being said, my favorite manufacturer is Tarptent!

Vasque, My waterproof boots are the best piece of gear I own.

Yeah, what Glenn said !!!!!!sabre11004...

Most manufacturers produce different lines of gear. Most have something really nice and other things are either ultralight or made more cheaply. Its all about market share. We had a sign in the lab that read GOOD, FAST, CHEAP - pick two. Light weight AND really durable at the same price, is an oxymoron. My Kelty spectra white cloud pack may be the most technically perfect pack ever made, but its an $800 pack and I don't think Kelty tents or their "normal line of packs" is special. I haven't bought a lot of gear lately because I have always bought really fine gear that lasts. And just to say, really fine gear is 20 years ahead of the competition and will be competitive 20 years from now. I like western mountaineering sleeping bags and montebell clothes and long underwear. I wear Marmot mountaineering clothes because they are bombproof yet relatively light for what you get. My favorite stove is made by Coleman, the Xtreme line is really special, but the rest of their stuff, well lets just say its nice car camping gear if you can't afford better. Stevensons warmlight produces only top notch gear, and the designs are 30 years old. By definition, a cottage industry is not a Brand Name.
Jim

I forgot one: Granite Gear.

i use online store also i suggest you http://www.vargooutdoors.com/ I found cheap rates outdorr gears

I know my local, independent gear store would love to get their hands on some Tarptents to sell! Personally though, I am skeptical of any change/growth that carries even the slightest chance of hampering product quality. I watched what happened to Bibler tents when BD bought them -- even though Todd Bibler remained "in charge". And it's kinda fun to see the store owner seethe with jealousy as I describe my Tarptent.

Actually, if they contact Henry Shires of Tarptent, they might be able to work out a deal. Backcountrygear.com in Eugene, OR has been able to do this.

My top five brands none of which have let me down are:

Arc' Teryx
Feathered Friends
McHale Packs
MSR
Patagonia

Two notable brands that have failed me are:

Outdoor Research
and TNF

i will only buy maxpedition bags. no its not UL, but every once in a while you will get a customer who want something tougher and can use it even when not backpacking. i have the pygmy falcon 2 pack, protemus and sabercat, looking into another pack soon.

I second (or third) Arcteryx, I have used their Bora pack many, many times, it's bulletproof and very comfortable. Their clothes fit perfectly and function very well. As was mentioned, they are pricey, so shop around a good while.

The only "brand" I can swear by is Western Mountaineering... everything, and I mean everything, they make is top drawer. However, they are a specialty company.

As to the rest, you have to pick through... every company makes something good, a few make a few exceptional items, and most make mostly average stuff.

Brand worship is foolish IMO...

I don't worship any brands but I do own a lot of gear.

Six Moon Designs
Tarptent
Black Diamond
MSR

have all been very good to me.

MEC house brand has also been good, but they can have a few bad ones too.

I own a lot of gear as well... Owning a lot of gear is different than having a lot of experience to have a context to evaluate what works and what doesn't. Most of us don't have the experience to evaluate what really works and I'd include myself in that statement despite over 35 years of backpacking... I've got a very good handle on backpacks though, at least as far as my own body is concerned. Still, I'm always learning...

My wife and I each own a different model WM bag, and I agree --- I've slept quite a lot of nights out in both of these bags (in colder weather I use my wife's 20F bag as she's disinclined to be sleeping out when it's colder ...). They've both held up very well and kept me quite warm.

One possible indicator of how many nights that many sleeping bag owners folks spend in their bags suggested itself to me just yesterday. I asked at my local REI store for some of the specialized soap they sell for washing a down bag. They didn't have any. The guy even checked and their store inventory was zero, and I got the impression that they hadn't had any in for a while and that he wasn't going to order any. What he initially pointed me to was "Nikwax Down Proof Wash-In", which container had printed right on it that a person should first use their "Nikwax Down Wash" product to wash the bag. The product that REI doesn't seem to be selling much of and had none in stock.

Maybe this doesn't mean anything --- I'll likely just use Woolite to wash my bag instead. But it got me thinking about how often most people actually use their sleeping bags (and other gear for that matter).

Anyway, I too like WM bags, or at least the two models I have experience with.

Another brand that I quite like is Montbell, at least for clothing. I've got quite a lot of use out of thermawrap vest and jacket, and this year I learned to really like their Alpinelite down parka. After some years and lots of use I sent my thermawrap jacket back to them with a zipper issue and they replaced the zipper and mailed it back to me for free. Very nice.

My one experience with tarptent has been quite positive too, lots of nights out with my Contrail and it's holding up very well for such a light tent --- usually one doesn't expect to get a lot of durability, years and years of use out of gear where weight was a prime purchase criteria.

Revivex down cleaner from McNett, which both Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends recommend for washing their down products, is available by mail order from, among other online dealers, campmor.com and amazon.com. For you, Brian, it should be available at the Feathered Friends store in downtown Seattle (close to the downtown REI) or from most Western Mountaineering dealers (in your area, Marmot Mountain Works or Pro Mountain Sports), but I'd call first. An item that most people use only every 2-3 years is not something that most retail stores will keep in stock.

Woolite, is no longer a soap (as it was when I was younger) but a detergent, which could strip some of the oils from your down. If you check their website, you'll notice that it is described as a detergent.

I have been disgusted with REI for years, dating back to the 1980's when they became, as a long-time hiker and climber friend put it, "a yuppie store like Banana Republic." Most of the time I go in, spend an hour or more looking and come out either empty-handed or with, at most, an isobutane canister or two. The only significant gear purchases I've made there in recent years were items I was dubious about, the Steripen Adventurer and the Thermarest NeoAir, both of which I ended up returning. REI seems to carry less and less of the useful small stuff, too!

I agree and disagree... been a member since 1975. Pretty much gave up on REI through the 80's... seemed, like the rest of the country, they pretty much lost their way. Sort of re-engaged with them in the 90's... a bit. Lately I think they've come out of their slump. Their brand-name stuff is actually quite a bit higher quality than it was in past decades... I honestly think much of it (maybe most) is up to the top brands.